Sermons on important subjects by Rev. Paul C. Jong

The Baptism of Jesus and
The Atonement of Sins

< Matthew 3:13-17 >
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be
baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I
have need to be baptized by you, and are You coming to me?'
But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now,
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'
Then he allowed Him. Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came
up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened
to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,
'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

Is There Anyone Who Still
Suffers from Sin?

Has our bondage
to sin ended?

Yes.

Our Lord God has cut off the shackles
of sin for all people. All those who have a hard time under sin
are slaves of sin, but With His redemption, our Lord cut them off
absolutely. He removed all our sins. Is there anyone who still suffers
from sin?

We have to understand that our warfare
against sin has ended. We shall never suffer in sin again. Our bondage
to sin ended when Jesus redeemed us with His baptism and blood.
All our sins ended then and there. The Son of God has expiated all
our sins. God paid for all our sins through Jesus, who set us free,
forever.

Do you know how much people suffer
from their sins? It started from the time of Adam and Eve. Mankind
suffers from the sins inherited from Adam.

But our God made a covenant which
is written in Genesis 3:15, and the covenant was that He would deliver
all sinners. He said that humans would be redeemed of their sins
through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by the water and the Spirit.
When the time came, God sent our Savior, Jesus, to live among us.

He also promised to send John the
Baptist ahead of Jesus and He kept His promise.

Mark 1:1-8 states, "The beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written
in the Prophets: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your
face, who will prepare Your way before You.' The voice of
one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make His paths straight.' John came baptizing in the wilderness
and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to
him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing
their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and with
a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
And he preached, saying, 'There comes One after me who is
mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down
and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit.'"

John the Baptist, the Witness
and Forerunner of the Gospel, John the Baptist

Who is John the
Baptist?

The last High Priest
and the representative
of all mankind

Baptism in Greek, 'baptizo,'
essentially means to 'submerge', but it also implies
'to be washed, to be buried, to be immersed, or to pass on
to.' When Jesus was baptized, the righteousness of God was
fulfilled. 'Righteousness' is 'dikaiosune'
in Greek, which means 'to be just,' and it also means
'most proper,' 'most fitting,' or 'the
fairest state'

Jesus was baptized so that He could
become the Savior in the most fitting and proper manner. Therefore,
those who believe in Jesus' baptism and the Cross receive
the gift of redemption from God.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist
is the last High Priest of the Old Testament. Let's look at
Matthew 11:10-11. The Scripture says that John the Baptist is the
representative of mankind and as the High Priest in the era of the
New Testament, he passed all the sins of the world onto Jesus; thus
ministering the high priesthood of the Old Testament.

Jesus Himself bore witness to John
Himself. He said, in Matthew 11:13-14, "For all the prophets
and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive
it, he is Elijah who is to come." Therefore, John the
Baptist, who baptized Jesus, was a descendant of the High Priest
Aaron and the last high priest. The Bible also testified to John's
being a descendant of Aaron in the Old Testament (Luke 1:5, 1 Chronicles
24:10).

Then why did John live in the wilderness
alone, dressed in a cloth made from camel's hair? It was to
assume the high priesthood. As the representative of all mankind,
John the Baptist could not live among people. So, he cried out to
the people, "Repent, you brood of vipers!" and
baptized them for the fruit of repentance in order to return people
to Jesus, who would take away all their sins. Most of all, John
the Baptist passed the sins of the world onto Jesus for our salvation
when he laid his hands on Jesus' head.

Two Kinds of Baptism

Why did John the
Baptist
baptize people?

To lead people
to repent of
all their sins and to believe in the
baptism of Jesus for salvation

John the Baptist baptized people and
then baptized Jesus. The first was 'the baptism of repentance,'
which called upon sinners to return to God. Many people who heard
the words of God through John abandoned their idols and returned
to Him.

The second baptism was the baptism
of Jesus, the baptism that passed all the sins of the world onto
Jesus. John the Baptist baptized Jesus to fulfill the righteousness
of God. In other words, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist to
save all people from their sins (Matthew 3:15).

Why did John have to baptize Jesus?
In order to blot out the sins of the world, God had to let John
pass all sins onto Jesus so that people who believed in Him could
be saved.

John the Baptist was a servant of
God whose mission was to pass all the sins of the world onto Jesus
through the baptism, and to bear witness to Jesus in order for all
of mankind to repent and be washed of their sins by believing in
the gospel of redemption. Therefore, John had to live alone in the
wilderness. In the time of John the Baptist, the people of Israel
were all corrupt and rotten to the core.

So God had said in the Old Testament,
Malachi 4:5-6, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And
he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike
the earth with a curse."

In the eyes of God, all the people
of Israel who had worshiped Jehovah before were corrupt. No one
was righteous before Him. The religious leaders of the temple, for
example, priests, lawyers and the scribes were especially rotten
to the core. Israelites and their priests did not offer the lawful
sacrifices according to the law of God.

The priests had abandoned the laying
on of hands and the ritual of the offering of blood, which God had
given them for the atonement of their sins. It is recorded that
the priests in the days of Malachi had abandoned the lawful sacrificial
system, the laying on of hands and the offering of the blood of
the sacrificial animal.

Therefore, John the Baptist could
not stay with them. He went out to the wilderness and cried out.
What did he say?

It is written in Mark 1:2-3, quoting
the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, I send My messenger
before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You. The voice
of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make His paths straight.'"

The voice in the wilderness cried
out to people for the baptism of repentance. What is the 'baptism
of repentance' the Bible talks about? It is the baptism which
John the Baptist cried out for; the baptism that called people back
to Jesus so that they would believe in Him, who would take away
all their sins and be saved. The baptism of repentance was to lead
them to salvation.

"Repent and be baptized. Our
Savior Jesus will be baptized in the same way to take away all your
sins." The cry of John the Baptist was that Jesus would take
away the sins of the world and be judged on the Cross to save all
people, so that they might come back to God.

"I indeed baptized you with
water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 'Baptize
you with the Holy Spirit' means to wash away all your
sins. To baptize means 'to wash.' The baptism of Jesus
at the Jordan River tells us that the Son of God was thus baptized
and took away all our sins to save us.

Therefore, we are to turn back from
our sinful lives and believe in Him. He is the Lamb who took away
the world's sins. This is the gospel of redemption to which
John the Baptist testified.

The Task of the High Priest
for the Atonement of Sins

Who prepared
the way of salvation?

John the Baptist

The Prophet Isaiah had prophesied,
"Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her
warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received
from the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Isaiah
40:2).

Jesus Christ took away all our sins
without exception; original sin, present sins, and even future sins
were washed away through His baptism. He redeemed us all. We should
all know about God's redemption.

To be saved from all our sins, we
must believe in the gospel that states that John the Baptist passed
all sins onto Jesus through the means of baptism.

We should not misunderstand, thinking,
"Since God is love, we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven only
by believing in Jesus, even if we have sin in our hearts."

In order to be redeemed of all our
sins, we have to believe in His baptism, through which John the
Baptist passed all the sins of the world onto Jesus and the Cross.
It is by 'the water' that John the Baptist passed all
the sins of mankind onto Jesus.

The first thing God did to save us
was to send John to this world. As the messenger of God, John the
Baptist was sent as the ambassador to the King, who passed all the
sins of the world onto Jesus through baptism. He ministered the
high priesthood of all mankind.

God told us that He sent His messenger,
John the Baptist, to us. "I send My messenger before Your
face." Before Your face means before Jesus. Why did God
send John before Jesus? It was to pass on all the sins of the world
onto Jesus, the Son of God, through baptism. "He will prepare
Your way before You." This is what the passage really
means.

Who is the one who prepared the way
so that we could be redeemed and go to Heaven? John the Baptist.
'Your' means Jesus and 'My'
means God Himself. Therefore, when He said, "I send My
messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You,"
what does it mean?

Who is to prepare our way so that
we may go to Heaven? John the Baptist passed all our sins onto Jesus
so that we would believe He washed them all away; his task was to
pass on the sins by baptizing Jesus Christ. It was Jesus and John
who made it possible for us to believe in the truth and be redeemed.

On what does our salvation depend?
It depends on whether we believe in the righteous acts of Jesus,
the Son of God, and the fact that the messenger of God, John the
Baptist, had passed all the sins of the world onto Him. We should
all know the gospel of the remission of sins. God the Father sent
His messenger ahead, the one who would baptize His Son, and made
him the representative of mankind. Thus, He completed the work of
redemption for us.

God sent His servant John the Baptist
to baptize His Son so that he could prepare the way for salvation
for those who believed in Jesus. That is the reason why John baptized
Jesus. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist was the fulfillment
of God's redemption through which all the sins of mankind
were passed onto Him so that all people might believe in Jesus and
go to Heaven.

Even the future sins of mankind were
passed onto Jesus through His baptism. Jesus and John the Baptist
together prepared the way to Heaven for all of us. In this way,
God revealed the secret of redemption through John the Baptist.

As the representative of humankind,
John baptized Jesus so that we might believe in our redemption and
go to Heaven. He passed all sin onto Jesus through baptism. This
is the joyous news of redemption, the gospel.

Why Was John the Baptist
Born?

Through whom can
we
believe in Jesus?

John the Baptist

In Malachi 3:1, it is written, "Behold,
I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me."
You have to read the Bible carefully. Why did God send His messenger
before Jesus? Why was John the Baptist born prior 6 months to Jesus?

We have to understand what the Bible
is all about. The Old Testament states the task of the High Priest
Aaron. Aaron was the older brother of Moses. God anointed him and
his sons as priests. The other Levites worked under them, bringing
them assorted utensils, mixing the batter for the bread and such,
while the sons of Aaron offered the sacrifice inside the holy tabernacle.

Aaron's sons were anointed to
share an equal amount of work among them, but on the Day of Atonement,
the tenth day of the seventh month, the High Priest alone offered
the sacrifice of atonement for his people's yearly sins.

In Luke 1:5, there is a story about
the lineage of John the Baptist. We have to correctly understand
this messenger of God to understand Jesus properly. We tend to think
a lot about Jesus, but ignore much about John the Baptist, who came
before Him. I would like to help you understand.

"The beginning of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets,
Behold I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your
way before you" (Mark 1:1-2). The gospel of Heaven always
starts with John the Baptist.

When we fully learn about John the
Baptist, we can clearly understand and believe in the gospel of
the redemption of Jesus. It is similar to listening to the ambassadors
we have dispatched all over the world in order to understand the
situations of all nations. When we know about John the Baptist,
we can understand the redemption of God very well.

What a pity it is, however, that so
many Christians these days do not see the importance of John. God
didn't send John the Baptist because He was bored and had
nothing else to do. All the four Gospels of the New Testament talk
about John the Baptist before talking about the redemption of Jesus.

But the evangelists of today ignore
him completely and tell people that just believing in Jesus is enough
to be saved. They are in fact leading people to live as sinners
all their lives and end up in hell. If all the Christians just believe
in Jesus without understanding the role of John the Baptist, Christianity
would be depraved into a worldly religion. How can you be redeemed
of your sins if you do not know the truth? It is impossible.

The gospel of redemption is neither
that simple nor that easy. So many people think that redemption
lies in our faiths in the Cross because Jesus died on the Cross
for us. However, if you believe only in His crucifixion without
knowing the whole truth of the passing on of sins, such faith will
not lead to complete redemption, no matter how strong your faith
may be.

God sent John the Baptist to let the
world know how redemption was to be accomplished and how Jesus would
take away the sins of the world. Only when we know the whole truth
will we understand that Jesus is the Son of God, who took all our
sins onto Himself.

John the Baptist tells us about the
truth of redemption. He tells us how he came to testify that Jesus
was God and the true Light. He clearly asserted that he was not
that Light, but the witness of the Light. He also testified in John
1 that it was he who prepared the gospel of redemption by baptizing
Jesus Christ.

If we didn't have the testimony
on redemption by John the Baptist, how could we believe in Jesus?
We have never seen Jesus, and when we come from different cultures
and religions, how is it possible to believe in Jehovah as our God?

Having such diverse religions throughout
the world, how could we know Jesus Christ? How could we know that
Jesus was in fact the Son of God, who redeemed us by taking all
the sins of the world upon Himself?

We have to look into the Old Testament
to find the words of redemption from the beginning and to know that
Jesus is our Savior. We have to obtain the correct knowledge to
have the correct faith. There's nothing we can do without
true knowledge. In order to believe in Jesus and be saved, we have
to know the gospel of the redemption that John the Baptist testified
to and his role in it. To have complete faith in Christ, we have
to know the truth about redemption.

Therefore, as Jesus said, "And
you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,"
we have to know the truth of redemption in Jesus.

The Proofs in the Bible

From what point
do
the four Gospels start?

From the advent
of
John the Baptist

Let us go ahead to explore all the
proofs of redemption in the Bible. Let us uncover what the four
Gospels say about John the Baptist, about who he was, why he was
called 'the representative of mankind' or 'the
last High Priest,' how all the sins of the world were passed
onto Jesus through him, and whether Jesus took away all our sins
onto Himself or not.

We should pay attention to the fact
that all four Gospels start with John the Baptist. John 1:6 states
one of the most important facts in the gospel. It tells us who performed
the task of passing all the sins of the world onto Jesus. "There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for
a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might
believe" (John 1:6-7).

It says, 'all through him
might believe,' and that he was 'to bear witness
of the Light.' The Light is Jesus Christ. It means that
John was to bear witness to Jesus so that all might believe through
him. Now, let's take a closer look at Matthew chapter 3.

In Matthew 3:13-17, "Then
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by
him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to
be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' But Jesus answered
and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him.
Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from
the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

Why do we have
to
understand the lineage of John?

Because the Bible
tells us that John
is the High Priest of all mankind.

John the Baptist baptized Jesus to
accomplish the remission of all the sins in the world. The baptism
that Jesus received from John was the most important event for our
salvation. But to understand and believe the whole truth in full
detail, we should closely study John the Baptist first.

In Luke 1:1-14, "Inasmuch
as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those
things which are most surely believed among us, just as those who
from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered
them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding
of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account,
most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those
things in which you were instructed. There was in the days of Herod,
the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division
of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name
was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking
in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But
they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both
well advanced in years. So it was, that while he was serving as
priest before God in the order of his division, according to the
custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went
into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people
was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the
Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of
incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell
upon him. But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zacharias,
for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you
a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and
gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.'"

Here, Luke, a disciple of Jesus, tells
us in detail the lineage of John. Luke, a disciple of Jesus, explains
the lineage of John from the beginning. Luke had taught the gospel
to a man named Theophilus, who was from a different culture and
didn't know about the Lord.

So, in order to teach him about Jesus,
the Savior of sinners, Luke thought that he needed to explain the
lineage of John the Baptist in detail. As we are also Gentiles from
different races, we cannot understand the salvation of Jesus if
it isn't specifically explained, step by step. Let's
find out what the details are.

In Luke 1:5-9, he narrates, "There
was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named
Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters
of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous
before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the
Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren,
and they were both well advanced in years. So it was, that while
he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,
according to the custom of the priesthood."

Here, an incident occurred while Zacharias
was serving God, according to the custom of the priesthood. Luke
testified clearly that Zacharias was a descendant of Aaron. Then,
what division did Zacharias belong to? This is a very important
point.

He explained, "While Zacharias
was serving as priest before God in the order of his division."
We can see that Luke knew about Zacharias so well that he explained
the gospel of redemption by mentioning both Zacharias and Elizabeth.

John the Baptist was born to Zacharias
and his wife Elizabeth, who was one of the daughters of Aaron. Now,
let's look at the lineage of Zacharias, the father of John.

The Lineage of John the Baptist

Whose descendant
was
John the Baptist?

Aaron, the High
Priest

To understand the lineage of John
the Baptist, we have to read the Old Testament, 1 Chronicles 24:1-19.

"Now these are the divisions
of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar,
and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had
no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests.
Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the
sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their
service. Now there were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar
than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the
sons of Eleazar there were sixteen heads of their fathers'
houses, and eight heads of their fathers' houses among the
sons of Ithamar. Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another,
for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house
of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. And
the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel, one of the Levites, wrote
them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech
the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers' houses
of the priests and Levites, one father's house taken for Eleazar
and one for Ithamar. Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second
to Jedaiah, the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, the fifth
to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth
to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, the eleventh
to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, the thirteenth to Huppah, the
fourteenth to Jeshebeab, the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth
to Immer, the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, the twenty-first
to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, the twenty-third to Delaiah,
the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. This was the schedule of their service
for coming into the house of the Lord according to their ordinance
by the hand of Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had
commanded him."

Let's read verse 10 again. "The
seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah." In the days
of King David, there were numerous priests, so there was also a
need to establish a regulation for their systematic services. Thus,
David assigned lots to each of the sons of Aaron so that the sacrifice
was offered in order. (As you all know, Aaron was the older brother
of Moses. God ordained Moses as His agent, and Aaron as the High
Priest of the Holy Tabernacle before the people of Israel.)

All the other Levites were put under
the priests and Aaron and the priests, his sons, took charge of
all the sacrifices before God. Before David assigned lots, the priests,
who were the descendants of Aaron, had to draw lots each time and
it had caused much confusion.

Therefore, David arranged a system
by putting each division in order. There were 24 divisions in an
order, originating from the grandsons of Aaron, and the eighth was
Abijah. It is said, "A certain priest named Zacharias,
of the division of Abijah." So Zacharias was a priest
of the division of Abijah, and they were both descendants of Aaron
the High Priest.

It was Zacharias, a priest of the
division of Abijah, who was John the Baptist's father. We
know from the Bible that they used to marry within their families.

So, Jacob married his uncle's
daughter from his mother's side. It is this explanation of
the lineage that has profound importance. It says, "A certain
priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah."

Therefore, he was definitely a descendant
of Aaron. Who? Zacharias, John the Baptist's father. This
is an important fact in explaining the redemption of Jesus, and
the ministry of John the Baptist, and the passing of the world's
sins onto Jesus.

Only the Sons of Aaron Shall
Minister as Priests

Who could minister
the
high priesthood in the time of
the Old Testament?

Aaron and his appointed
descendants

Then, where in the Bible does it specify
that the sons of Aaron should minister as priests? Let's look
it up.

In Numbers 20:22-29, "Then
the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh
and came to Mount Hor. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in
Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 'Aaron
shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land
which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled
against My word at the water of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar
his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his
garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered
to his people and die there.' So Moses did just as the Lord
commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the
congregation. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them
on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.
Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. Now when all
the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel
mourned for Aaron thirty days."

In Exodus, the law of God is recorded,
saying that the sons of Aaron, the High Priest, should assume the
priesthood, and an appointed son had to assume the high priesthood,
as his father did, when they came to the age of 30.

In Exodus 28:1-5, "Now take
Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children
of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron's
sons; Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And you shall make holy
garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you
shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with
the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments,
to sanctify him, that he may minister to Me as priest. And these
are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod,
a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they
shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that
he may minister to Me as priest. They shall take the gold and blue
and purple and scarlet thread, and fine linen."

God clearly assigned Aaron, the brother
of Moses, to the high priesthood. The priesthood was not open to
any other man. God ordered Moses to consecrate Aaron as the High
Priest, and to make proper attire for him as defined by Him. We
should never forget the words of God.

Also in Exodus 29:1-9, "And
this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering
to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,
and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened
wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). You
shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with
the bull and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons you shall bring
to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them
with water. Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron,
and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird
him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. You shall put
the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. And
you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint
him. Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. And you
shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats
on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute.
So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons."

Gird them with sashes, Aaron and his
sons, and put the hats on them.... The priesthood shall be theirs
for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons....
God specified that only Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated
to perpetually minister the priesthood. When He specifically said,
"for a perpetual statute," it implied that the
priesthood was effective even after Jesus came into this world.

Luke explains in depth that Zacharias
was a descendant of Aaron the High Priest. When Zacharias was serving
as the priest in charge in front of God in the temple of the Lord,
an angel appeared and told him that his prayer was heard; that his
wife Elizabeth would bear him a son.

Zacharias could not believe this and
said, "My wife is well advanced in years, how could she
bear a son?" Because of his doubt, God made him mute for
a while to show that His words were true.

In due time, his wife became pregnant
and after a while, the Virgin Mary, a virgin, also became pregnant.
Both incidents were the prepared works of God for our salvation.
In order to save the wretched mankind, He had to send His servant
John and His only begotten Son Jesus into this world.

Therefore, God had His Son baptized
by John in order to pass on all the sins of the world, so that those
who believed in Him would be saved.

The Special Providence of
God!

Whom did God prepare
before Jesus for the work
of His redemption?

John the Baptist

Jesus Christ was the Savior of mankind,
who was born of the body of the Virgin Mary. Mary was betrothed
to Joseph, who was a descendant of Judas. Jesus had to be born through
the descendants of Judas to fulfill the Covenant of God, just as
John the Baptist had to be born in the house of Aaron, the High
Priest.

God prepared these two to be born
into this world, in that order, John before Jesus. John was born
so that he could baptize Jesus and pass all the sins of the world
onto Him. A descendant of the High Priest had to offer the sacrifice
of atonement in order to fulfill the Covenant of God, made in the
Old and New Testament; the gospel of the redemption of Jesus had
to be carried out correctly so that all the people would be delivered.

In Exodus, God gave Israel His Law
and Covenants; the laws of God and the sacrificial system of the
tabernacle, down to the attire of the priests, details of the sacrifices,
and the succession of the priesthood to the sons of priests. God
appointed Aaron and his descendants to the high priesthood in perpetuity.

Therefore, all descendants of Aaron
could offer sacrifices and the high priests could come only from
the house of Aaron. Do you see why this was so?

Among many descendants of Aaron, God
chose a certain priest named Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth. He
had said, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face."
When God told Zacharias that He would enable Elizabeth to have a
son, and that He was to name him John, he was so astonished that
he became a mute at His command until the son was born and named.

Indeed, a son was born to his house.
When it was time to name the baby according to the custom of Israel,
the son was named after his father, or one of his relatives.

"Now Elizabeth's full
time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.
When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great
mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. Now so it was, on the eighth
day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have
called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. And his mother
answered and said, 'No; he shall be called John.' But
they said to her, 'There is no one among your relatives who
is called by this name.' So they made signs to his father—what
he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and
wrote, saying, 'His name is John.' And they all marveled.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke,
praising God. Then fear came on all who swelt around them; and all
these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of
Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying,
'What kind of child will this be?' And the hand of the
Lord was with him" (Luke 1:57-66).

Zacharias was still mute when his
son was born. When it was time to name the baby, the relatives suggested
that the baby should be called Zacharias. But his mother insisted
that his name should be John. At this, the relatives said that there
was no one by that name in the family and that the baby should be
named after his father.

When Elizabeth kept on insisting on
the name, the relatives went to Zacharias and asked what the name
of the baby should be. Zacharias, since he could not yet speak,
asked for a writing tablet and wrote 'John'.
All the relatives wondered at this unusual choice of name.

But after the naming, Zacharias'
mouth opened immediately. He praised God and he was filled with
the Holy Spirit and prophesied.

Thus, Luke tells of the birth of John
the Baptist in the house of Zacharias. "There was a certain
priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah." In
the special providence of God, John the Baptist, the representative
of mankind was born to Zacharias, a descendant of Aaron.

Through John the Baptist and Jesus
Christ, God had accomplished the salvation of mankind. We are saved
from all our sins by believing in the work of redemption, carried
out through John and Jesus Christ.

The Baptism of Jesus

Why was Jesus
baptized by John?

To take away all
the sins
of the world

John the Baptist testified that Jesus
was the Son of God and He took away all our sins. He was John the
Baptist, the servant of God who was sent to bear witness to God's
salvation. It does not mean that God doesn't tell us Himself
that He is our Savior. God works through His servants in the church,
and through the mouths of all His people who have been saved.

God says, "Speak comfort
to Jerusalem, and Cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that
her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord's
hand double for all her sins…The grass withers, the flower
fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:2,
8).

God had already promised about seven
hundred years before the birth of Christ, "You are not sinners
anymore. I have atoned for all your sins and the warfare has ended."
Thus, the voice of the gospel of redemption keeps crying out to
us. This is what is called the prepared gospel.

When we understand the works of John
the Baptist and really understand that all the sins of the world
were passed onto Jesus through John the Baptist, we can all be freed
from our sins.

All four Gospels tell us about John
the Baptist, and Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament
also testifies that John the Baptist is the prepared servant of
God. The New Testament begins with the birth of John the Baptist
and the passing on of sins through him.

Then why do we call him John the Baptist?
It is because he baptized Jesus. What does baptism mean? It means
'to pass on to, to be buried, to be washed'—the
same as 'the laying on of hands' in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, when a man sinned,
he passed his sins on to the sacrificial animal without blemish
by laying his hands on the head of it, and the sacrifice died with
those sins. 'The laying on of hands' means 'to
pass on to.' Therefore, 'the laying on of hands'
and 'baptism' has the same implications, even though
they are apparently different.

Then, what was the meaning of the
baptism of Jesus? His baptism was the only way for us to receive
the remission of sins. God had established the law that sin might
be transferred to a sacrifice through 'the laying on of hands.'
Thus, in the days of the Old Testament, sinners had to lay their
hands on the head of a sacrifice in order to pass their sins onto
its head. After that, they had to cut its throat and the priests
placed the blood on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering.
This was the way to atone for daily sins.

Then, how did they atone for yearly
sins?

In this case, Aaron the High Priest
offered the sacrifice for all the people of Israel. Because John
the Baptist was born to the house of Aaron, it was proper for him
to be the high priest, and God predestined him to be the last High
Priest, according to His promise of redemption.

John the Baptist was the representative
of all mankind and the last high priest because the Old Testament
ended when Jesus Christ was born. Who else but John the Baptist
could have passed all the sins of the world onto Jesus in the New
Testament, just as Aaron had atoned for the sins of his people in
the Old Testament? As the last high priest in the Old Testament
and the representative of all mankind, John the Baptist passed all
the sins of the world onto Jesus when he baptized Him.

Because John passed all the sins of
the world onto Jesus, believing in the gospel of the water and Spirit
can redeem us. Jesus became the Lamb in order to save all sinners,
thus carrying out the work of redemption as God had planned. Jesus
told us that John the Baptist was the last prophet, the last high
priest who passed all the sins of the world onto Him.

Why couldn't Jesus do it by
Himself? Why did He need John the Baptist? There was a reason for
John the Baptist to be born six months prior to Jesus; it was to
fulfill the law of the Old Testament, to accomplish its promises.

Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary,
and John the Baptist was born to an old and barren woman named Elizabeth.

These were the works of God and He
planned them to save all sinners. To save us from a perpetual war
against sin, along with all the sufferings of our sinful existences,
He sent His servant John, and then His Own Son, Jesus. John the
Baptist was sent as the representative of all mankind, the last
High Priest.

The Greatest Man Born of
Women

Who was the greatest
man on earth?

John the Baptist

Let's look at Matthew 11:7-14.
"As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes
concerning John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man
clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are
in kings' houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet?
Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom
it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before your face,
who will prepare Your way before You.' Assuredly, I say to
you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than
John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it
by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come."

People went out to the wilderness
to see John the Baptist, who cried out, "Repent, you brood
of vipers!" And Jesus said, "But what did you
go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who
wear soft clothing are in kings' houses."

Jesus Himself testified to John's
greatness. "What did you go out to see? A barbarian who dresses
in camel hair and shouts at the top of his lungs? He must have worn
the hair of a camel. What did you go out to see? A man clothed in
soft garments? Those who wear soft clothing live in kings'
houses. But he is greater than the king," testified Jesus.
"Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings'
houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to
you, and more than a prophet."

In the old days, prophets were considered
to be greater than kings. John the Baptist was more than a king,
and more than a prophet. He was more than all the prophets of the
Old Testament. In fact, John, the last high priest and the representative
of mankind, was more important than Aaron, the first High Priest.
Jesus Himself testified that John was as such.

Who is the representative of mankind?
Except Christ Himself, who is the greatest man on earth? John the
Baptist. "I say to you, and more than a prophet. 'Behold,
I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way
before You.'"

John the Baptist testified that the
war against sin had ended. "Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!" It was John the Baptist
who testified that Jesus took away the sins of the world.

In Matthew 11:11, "Assuredly,
I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one
greater than John the Baptist." Has there been anyone
greater than John the Baptist among those born of women?

What does it mean to be 'born
of women?' It refers to all humankind. Except for Adam
and Eve, all human beings were born from women. Yes, among those
born of women, there has not risen a greater person than John the
Baptist. Therefore, he is the last High Priest and the representative
of mankind. John the Baptist was the High Priest, prophet and the
representative of all humankind.

In the Old Testament, Aaron and his
sons were ordained by God to serve in perpetuity. All sins had to
be washed away through Aaron and his sons. It was as God had ordered.

If some other Levites had come forward
and dared to step into their priesthood, they would have certainly
died. All they were able to do was to collect wood for the fire
on the altar, skin the animals, pick out the fat, clean the intestines
and bring its offal outside the camp. If they had been presumptuous
enough to try to physically do the work of priests, they would have
died. It is the law of God. They could not cross the line.

On earth, there has not risen a man
greater than John the Baptist. He was the greatest among all mortals.
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."

The redemption of mankind was accomplished
when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, and those who believe in Jesus
can enter the Kingdom of Heaven because they become righteous by
faith.

Now, let's see how John's
father testified to his son.

The Testimony of Zacharias,
the Father of John

What did Zacharias
prophesy about his son?

John will prepare
the Lord's way by
giving knowledge of salvation
to His people.

Let's read Luke 1:67-80. "Now
his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied,
saying: 'Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited
and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for
us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of
His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we
should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate
us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember
His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before
Him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the
prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord
to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our
God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give
light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the way of peace.' So the child grew and became
strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation
of Israel."

Zacharias prophesied two things. He
prophesied that the King of all people would come. From verses 68
to 73, he prophesied with joy that God did not forget His promises
and that Jesus, as God promised to Abraham, was born to the Virgin
Mary in order to save his descendants from their enemies'
hands.

From verse 74, "To grant
us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might
serve Him without fear." This is a reminder of the Promise
of God to Abraham and the people of Israel, and he prophesied, "to
grant us that we might serve Him without fear."

From verse 76, he prophesied to his
son. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the
Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare
His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission
of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the
Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace."

Here he said, "To give knowledge
of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins."
By whom did he say the knowledge of salvation was to be given? John
the Baptist. Can you all see this? John the Baptist, through the
words of God, was to give us the knowledge that Jesus is God's
Son, who took away the sins of the world.

Now, let's look at Mark 1. "The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is
written in the Prophets: 'Behold, I send My messenger before
Your face, who will prepare Your way before You. The voice of one
crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make
His paths straight.' John came baptizing in the wilderness
and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to
him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing
their sins" (Mark 1:1-5).

When the Israelites heard from John
the Baptist, they turned from worshipping the idols of Gentiles
and were baptized by John the Baptist. But John testified, "I
baptize you with water so that you may return to God. But the Son
of God will come and be baptized by me so that all your sins will
be passed onto Him in this same manner. And if you believe in His
baptism as you are being baptized by me, all your sins will be passed
onto Him, just as the sins were passed on through the laying on
of hands in the Old Testament." That was what John testified
to.

The fact that Jesus was baptized in
the Jordan means that He was baptized in the river of death. We
sing at a funeral, "In the sweet by and by, we shall meet
on that beautiful shore. We shall meet on that beautiful shore."
When we die, we will cross the Jordan River. The Jordan River is
the river of death. Jesus was baptized in this river of death, for
He took all the sins of the world there and "the wages
of sin is death."

The Baptism That Passes on
Our Sins

What is the antitype
of
hands in the New
Testament?

The baptism of
Jesus

In Matthew 3:13-17, we read, "Then
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by
him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to
be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' But Jesus answered
and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him.
Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from
the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

Jesus went to the Jordan and was baptized
by John the Baptist. He ordered John, "Baptize Me."
John replied, "But I need to be baptized by You, and are You
coming to me?" The high priests of heaven and earth met together.

As stated by Hebrews, Jesus Christ
is the High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.
This means that Jesus is without human genealogy. He is not a descendant
of Aaron, or of any person on earth. He is the Son of God, our Creator.
He is who He is; therefore, He has no genealogy. Jesus threw away
the glory of heaven and came down to earth to save His people.

The reason He descended into this
world was to save all sinners who suffered from the deception of
Satan. In addition, He took away all the sins of the world by being
baptized by John the Baptist. "But Jesus answered and said
to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for
us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him."

"Permit it to be so now."
Permit it! Jesus ordered the representative of all mankind and bowed
His head to be baptized. In the Old Testament, when a sacrifice
was offered to God, either the sinner or the high priest laid his
hands on its head and passed on the sins. 'To lay one's
hands on' means 'to pass.'

John the Baptist baptized Jesus. It
was the same as the laying on of hands in the Old Testament. 'To
pass on to,' 'to be buried,' 'to be washed,'
and 'to sacrifice' are also the same. The New Testament
is the reality while the Old Testament is its shadow.

When a sinner laid his hands on a
lamb in the Old Testament, his sin was passed onto the lamb and
the lamb had to be killed. When the lamb was dead, it was buried.
The sins of the one who laid his hands on the lamb were passed onto
the sacrificial animal, so the lamb was to be killed due to the
sins! If the sins were passed onto the lamb, could the one who offered
the lamb according to the sacrificial system be without sin? Yes.

Let's say that this handkerchief
is sin and this microphone, the lamb. When I lay my hands on this
microphone, this sin is passed onto it, the lamb. God Himself decided
that it would be so. "Lay your hands on." In order to
be redeemed of sins in the days of the Old Testament, one had to
lay his hands on the head of a sacrifice. After that, he could be
without sin. Likewise, the baptism of Jesus was to wash, bury and
pass the sins of the world onto Him. This is exactly what it means.

What does it mean
to
fulfill all righteousness?

It's to wash
away all sins by
passing the sins onto Jesus.

So, when Jesus was baptized to take
away all the sins of the world, were they all indeed passed onto
Him? All the sins of the world were passed onto Jesus and all people
were redeemed. It is the same as the passing of sins to the sacrifices
in the Old Testament. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan and
said to John, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15).

Then, John baptized Jesus. He told
John that it was fitting for them to fulfill all righteousness by
His baptism. 'All righteousness' means 'the
most proper and fitting.' 'For thus,' in
other words, by the means of baptism, all righteousness was fulfilled.
This meant that it was right for John to baptize Jesus, and Jesus
to be baptized by John, so as to pass all the sins of the world
onto Him.

God grants redemption on the basis
of Jesus' baptism, His sacrifice on the Cross and our faiths.
"All people suffer from sin and are tormented by the devil
because of their sins. Therefore, in order for them to be saved
and sent to Heaven, you, as the representative of mankind and a
descendant of Aaron, should baptize Me for all people. I shall be
baptized by you, John. Then, the work of redemption will be fulfilled."

"I understand," replied
John.

So John baptized Jesus. He laid his
hands on Jesus' head and passed all the sins of the world
onto Him. Thus, Jesus became the Savior who washed away all our
sins. Now, believing in His redemption can save us. Do you believe?

After His baptism at the Jordan, through
the hands of the representative of all mankind, Jesus traveled and
preached the gospel for three-and-a-half years with all the sins
of the world on His body as His first public works in ministry.

He told the woman who was caught in
the act of adultery, "Neither do I condemn you."
He could not condemn her because He had taken all her sins onto
Himself and was about to die on the Cross for them. While He was
praying at a place called Gethsemane, He prayed three times, begging
for the Father to let the cup of God's judgment pass from
Him, but soon gave up and said, "Not as I will, but as
You will."

"Behold! The Lamb
of God Who Takes Away the Sin of the World!"

How much sin did
Jesus take away?

All the sins of
the world

John 1:29 states, "The next
day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'"
John the Baptist baptized Jesus and the next day, Jesus came toward
him, so he told people, "Behold! the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!'" It was his testimony.

The Son of God came to this world
and took away all its sins. John the Baptist testified again. In
John 1:35-36, "Again, the next day, John stood with two
of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold
the Lamb of God!'"

The Lamb of God refers to the fact
that Jesus is the true and real entity of the sacrifice mentioned
in the Old Testament, which died for the sins of Israel. For you
and I, the Son of God and our Creator, came down to this world to
take away all our sins; all sins from the creation of the world
until the day that it ends, from original sin to all our iniquities,
from our shortcomings to our faults. He redeemed all of us with
His baptism and blood on the Cross.

Jesus took away all our sins and gave
us, the believers, perfect redemption. Do you understand this? "The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

About 2000 years has passed since
He was born into this world and in 30 A.D., Jesus took away all
our sins. The year 1 A.D. was the year that Jesus was born. We call
the time before Christ: B.C. Almost 2000 years has passed since
Jesus came to this world.

In 30 A.D., John the Baptist baptized
Jesus and the next day, John cried out to the people, "Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" "Behold!"
He told people to believe in Jesus, who took away all their sins.
He testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the One who saved us
from all our sins.

Jesus took away all our sins and ended
our perpetual war against sin. We are now without sin since the
Son of God took them away. John the Baptist testified that Jesus
had taken away all our sins, the sins of both you and I. "This
man (John) came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that
all through him might believe" (John 1:7).

Without the testimony of John, how
could we have known that Jesus took away all our sins? The Bible
tells us often that He died for us, but only John the Baptist clearly
testified that He took away all our sins.

How much sin is
the
sin of the world?

All the sins of
human beings from
the beginning to the end of
the world

Many testified the fact after Jesus'
death, but only John testified it while He was alive. Of course,
the disciples of Jesus also testified to the redemption of Jesus.
They testified that Jesus took away our sins, that He is our Savior.

Jesus took away the world's
sins. Now reader, you are not yet 100 years old are you? Jesus took
away the sins of the world when He was 30 years old. Consider this
diagram.

Let's say that it was 4,000
years before Jesus came that the first man was created. And it has
been just a little over 2000 years since Jesus came. We do not know
how long the world will last, but the end is sure to come. He says,
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last" (Revelation 22:13).

So, there will surely be an end. We
are now at the point indicated by the year 2002. Christ took away
our sins in 30 A.D., and it was 3 years before He died at the Cross.

"Behold! The Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world." He took away the
sins of the world, the sins of you and I. We are over 2000 years
away from the birth of Jesus and are living our lives about 2000
years after Jesus took away our sins. We still live and commit sins
day in and day out, however, Jesus is the Lamb of God who already
took away the world's sins.

We begin to live and sin in this world
from the moment we are born. Do we all sin from the moment we are
born, or do we not? —We do.— Let's go through
the whole process. From the day we are born until we are 10, do
we sin, or do we not? —We do.— Then, were those sins
passed onto Jesus or not? —They were.— Since
all sins were passed onto Jesus, He is our Savior. If not, how could
He be our Savior? All the sins were passed onto Jesus.

From the age of 11 to 20, do we sin,
or do we not? We sin in our hearts and in our acts.... We are very
good at it. We have been taught not to sin, but are prone to commit
sins by nature.

God tells us that all those sins were
passed onto Jesus. He knew what we were sinful, so He took away
all those sins beforehand.

And how long do we usually live in
this world? Let's say it is about 70 years. If we added together
all the sins we committed during those 70 years, how heavy would
our load be? If we packed them into 8-ton trucks, we would probably
end up with more than 100 truckloads.

Try to imagine how much sin we will
commit during our whole lifetimes. Are those the sins of the world,
or are they not? They are a part of the sins of the world. We sin
from birth, up to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30... until the day we die,
but all those sins are included in the sins of the world that already
passed onto Jesus through His baptism.

The Savior of Man, Jesus
Christ

How much sin did
Jesus take away?

All the sins of
our ancestors,
of us and our descendants until
the end of the world

Jesus tells us that He came in flesh
to wash away all those sins. But, Jesus couldn't baptize Himself,
so God sent His servant John ahead, the elected representative of
all human beings. As it is written, 'His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God.' By Himself, by His
wisdom and by His council, He sent the representative of mankind
ahead, and Jesus Himself, the Son of God, came in the flesh to take
away all the sins of the world. Isn't this a wonderful salvation
of God's profound providence?

It is wonderful, isn't it? So,
just by being baptized by John the Baptist, He washed away all of
mankind's sins throughout the whole world and delivered everyone
from sin by being crucified, once and for all. He delivered us all.
Think about it. Let's take a look at all your sins from 20
to 30, 30 to 40, 40 to 60, to 70, to 100, and also those of your
children. Did He blot out all those sins, or did He not? Yes, He
did. He is Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind.

Since John the Baptist passed all
our sins onto Jesus, and because God had planned it so, we can be
delivered by believing in Him. Are you and I sinners? Were all our
sins passed onto Jesus or not? —We are not sinners anymore
because our sins were already passed onto Jesus.—

Who dares to say that there's
sin in this world? Jesus took away all the sins of the world. He
knew that we would sin, and thus, also took the sins of the future.
Some of us are not yet 50 and some haven't even lived half
of our lives yet, but some of us we talk about ourselves, including
myself, as if we would live forever.

There are so many of us who lead turbulent
lives. Let me explain it this way. What is half the life span of
a mayfly? It is about 12 hours.

"My goodness! I met such and
such a man and he swung a flyswatter at me! I was almost crushed
to death, and you know, I've never met such a cruel man during
my half life." It had only lived 12 hours and couldn't
stop talking. But already, half of its life had passed.

By 7 or 8 in the evening, it faces
the twilight of its life, and in a short while, death. Some mayflies
survive for 20 hours, some 21, and some live to the ripe old age
of 24 hours. They may talk of their lifelong experiences, but what
does it look like to us? As we live to 70, or 80 years old, we may
say, "Don't make me laugh." Their experience is
nothing at all in our eyes.

Let's apply this parable to
the relationship between God and us. God is eternal. He lives for
eternity. He decides the beginning and the end of the world. As
He lives forever, He lives in eternity beyond the time frame of
eternity. He looks at us from the position of His eternity.

Once upon a time, He took away all
the sins of the world, died on the Cross, and said, "It
is finished." He was resurrected after 3 days and went
up to Heaven. He now resides in eternity. Now, He is looking down
at each of us.

One man might say, "Oh, dear,
I have sinned so much. Even though I have lived only 20 years, I
have sinned so much." "I have lived for 30 years and
have sinned too much. It is just too much. How can I ever be without
sins?"

But our Lord in His eternity would
say, "Don't make Me laugh. I have not only redeemed
your sins up to now, but also the sins of your ancestors before
you were born, and the sins of all the generations of your descendants
who will live after your death." He says this to you from
the eternal time frame. Do you believe this? Believe it and receive
the gift of salvation given freely to you. Enter the Kingdom of
Heaven.

Do not bound yourself with your thoughts,
but believe in the words of God. 'It is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.' The Lamb of God, who took
away the sins of the world, already fulfilled all righteousness.
Jesus took away all the sins of the world. Did He, or did He not?
He did.

What did Jesus
say just before
His last breath on the Cross?

"It is finished."

Jesus Christ took away all the sins
of the world through His baptism, was sentenced to death in the
court of Pontius Pilate and was crucified on the Cross.

"And He bearing His Cross,
went out to a place called the place of the Skull, which is called
in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with
Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote
a title and put it on the Cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH,
THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for
the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was
written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin" (John 19:17-20).

Let's take a look at what happened
after He was crucified on the Cross. "After this, Jesus,
knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled." He had taken over all our sins according
to the Scripture. "He said, 'I thirst!' Now
a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a
sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is
finished!' and bowing His head, He gave up His spirit"
(John 19:28-30).

After He had received the sour wine,
He cried out, "It is finished!" and bowed His
head and passed away. He was actually dead. Jesus Christ resurrected
after 3 days and ascended to Heaven.

Let us turn to Hebrews 10:1-9. "For
the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the
very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices,
which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach
perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For
the worshipers, once purged, would have had no more consciousness
of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every
year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could
take away sins. Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared
for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
Then I said, 'Behold, I have come—in the volume of the
book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.' Previously
saying, 'Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings
for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them' (which
are offered according to the law), then He said, 'Behold,
I have come to do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first
that He may establish the second."

The Eternal Redemption

How can we solve
the
problem of daily sin after coming
to believe in Jesus?

By confirming that
Jesus has already
blotted out all sin through
His baptism

The law, in other words, the sacrificial
system, was a shadow of the good things to come. The sacrifices
of the Old Testament, of sheep and goats, revealed to us that Jesus
Christ would come and take away our sins in the same manner in order
to blot out all our sins.

All the people of the Old Testament,
David, Abraham, and all the others, knew and believed what the sacrificial
system meant to them. It revealed that the Messiah, Christ (Christ
means 'the Anointed King') would come some day to wash
away all their sins. They believed in their redemption and were
saved by their faiths.

The law was a shadow of the good things
to come. Offering sacrifices for their sins day after day, year
after year could never completely redeem them. Therefore, the complete
and eternal Being, the One without blemish, the Son of God, had
to come to earth.

Jesus said that He had come to do
His Father's will, as written in the Book, which was written
of Him. "And then I said, 'Behold, I have come to
do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first that He may
establish the second." We are redeemed of our sins because
Jesus Christ took away our sins, as written in the Old Testament,
and because we believe in Him.

Let's read Hebrews 10:10. "By
that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all." By that will we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all. Have we been sanctified or not? —We have.—

What does this mean? God the Father
sent His Son and passed all our sins onto Him through the baptism.
He received and judged Him once and for all on the Cross. Thus,
He delivered all of us who were suffering from sin. It was the Will
of God.

In order to deliver us, Jesus offered
Himself as the eternal sacrifice, once and for all, so that we could
be sanctified. We have been sanctified because Jesus sacrificed
Himself for all our sins and died for us so that we need not be
judged.

The sacrifice of the Old Testament
was offered every day because all the daily sins needed another
offering to be washed away.

The Spiritual Meaning of
Jesus' Washing Peter's Feet

Is there any more
sin
for which we must give
prayers for repentance?

No

In John 13, there's a story
of Jesus washing Peter's feet. He washed Peter's feet
in order to show him that Peter would commit sins in the future
and to teach him that He had already redeemed all those sins too.
Jesus knew that Peter would sin again in the future, so He poured
water into a basin and washed his feet.

Peter tried to refuse, but Jesus said,
"What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will
know after this." What this passage means is, 'You
will sin again after this. You will deny Me and sin again after
I wash all your sins. You will sin even after My Ascension. Therefore,
I wash your feet to warn Satan not to test you because I have already
taken away even your future sins.'

Do you think He washed Peter's
feet in order to tell us that we have to repent everyday? No. If
we had to repent everyday to be redeemed, that means that Jesus
would not have taken away all our sins once and for all.

But Jesus said that He sanctified
us once for all. If we were to repent every day, we might as well
go back to the time of the Old Testament. Then who could become
righteous? Who could be redeemed completely? Even if we believed
in God, who could live without sin?

Who can become sanctified by repentance?
We sin ceaselessly each day, so how can we ask for forgiveness for
each and every sin? How can we become so thick-skinned and pester
Him every day for our redemptions? We tend to forget our sins committed
in the mornings by the end of the day, and the sins of the evening
by the next morning. It is impossible for us to completely repent
for all our sins.

Therefore, Jesus was baptized once
and offered Himself on the Cross once so that we might become sanctified
all at one time. Can you understand this? We were redeemed from
all our sins once and for all. We are not redeemed every time we
repent.

We have been saved from our sins by
believing that Jesus took away all our sins, yours and my sins.

"And every priest stands
ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which
can never take away sins. But this man, after He had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from
that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by
one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after he had said
before, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after
those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts,
and in their minds I will write them,' then He adds, 'Their
sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.' Now
where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering
for sin" (Hebrews 10:11-18).

What does it mean, "Now where
there is remission of these" in verse18 above? It means
that the sin itself, any sin at all, was expiated forever, without
exception. God has blotted them out and forgiven us all. Do you
believe this? "Now where there is remission of these,
there is no longer an offering for sin."

Let us summarize everything so far.
If John the Baptist had not laid his hands on Jesus, in other words,
if he had not baptized Jesus, could we have been redeemed? No, absolutely
not! Let's think backwards. If Jesus had not elected John
the Baptist as the representative of all human beings and taken
away all sin through him, could He have washed away all our sins?
He couldn't have.

The Law of God is just. It is fair.
He could not just say that He was our Savior and that He took away
all our sins. He had to take away our sins practically. Why did
Jesus, God, come to us in the flesh? He came in order to take away
all the sins of mankind through His baptism. Jesus knew that all
the sins from our hearts and flesh could not be blotted out, unless
He came in the flesh to be offered as the eternal sacrifice.

If Jesus Christ had not been baptized,
our sins would still remain. If He had been crucified without first
taking away our sins, His death would have been meaningless. It
wouldn't have had anything to do with us. It would have been
completely meaningless.

So, when He started His public ministry
at the age of 30, He went to John the Baptist at the Jordan to be
baptized. His public ministry started at the age of 30 and ended
at 33. When He was 30, He went to John the Baptist to be baptized.
"Permit it to be so now, for it is fitting for us to do thus
so that all people can be saved and become righteous. It is the
proper thing for us to do. Now, baptize Me." Yes, Jesus Christ
was baptized for the redemption of all people.

Since Jesus was baptized and took
away all our sins, and because all our sins were passed onto Him
through the hands of John the Baptist, God Himself turned His eyes
away when Jesus was dying on the Cross. Even though Jesus was His
only begotten Son, He had to sacrifice His Son.

God is love, but He had to let His
Son die. So, for three hours, there was darkness over all the land.
Jesus cried out just before He died, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?"
that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Jesus shouldered all our sins and received the vicarious judgment
on the Cross for us. Thus, He saved us all. Without the baptism
of Jesus, His death would have been meaningless.

Are you a sinner
or
a righteous person?

A righteous person
who doesn't have any
sin in my heart

If Jesus had died on the Cross without
taking away all our sins through His baptism, His death would not
have accomplished the redemption. In order to perfectly redeem us,
Jesus was baptized by John, the representative of all human beings,
and received the judgment on the Cross so that all those who believe
in Him might be saved.

Therefore, from the days of John the
Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence.
Because John the Baptist passed all the sins of the world onto Jesus,
our sins have been atoned. You and I can now call God our Father
and boldly enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

In Hebrews 10:18, "Now where
there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for
sin." Are you still a sinner? Now that Jesus has already
paid off all your debts, do you still have to pay debts?

There was a man whose heavy drinking
put him in debt to many creditors. Then, one day, his son made a
fortune and paid off his father's entire debts. His father
would no longer have a debt no matter how much he had owed every
public house there.

This is what Jesus did for us. He
paid more than enough in advance for all our sins. Not just the
sins of our lifetimes, but all the sins of the world. They were
all passed onto Jesus when He was baptized. So are you still sinners
now? No, you are not.

If we had known this gospel of redemption
from the beginning, how easy it would have been for us to believe
in Jesus. But as it is, it sounds so new that many people wonder
about it.

But this is not something new. It
has existed since the beginning of human history. We just didn't
know of it before. The gospel of the water and the Spirit has always
been recorded in the Scriptures and has always been in effect. It
has been there all the time. It was here in the Bible before you
and I were born. It has been here since the creation of the earth.

The Gospel of Eternal Redemption

What do we have
to do before God?

We must believe
the gospel of
eternal redemption.

Jesus Christ, who washed away all
our sins, did it even before you and I were born. He took them all
away. Are you still with sin? —No— Then what about the
sins you will commit tomorrow? They are also included in the sins
of the world.

Let's take off the sins of tomorrow
now. The sins we have committed until now were also included in
the sins of the world, weren't they? Were they passed onto
Jesus or not? Yes, they were.

Then, were the sins of tomorrow also
passed onto Him? Yes, He took them all, without exception. He has
not left even one sin behind. The gospel tells us to believe wholeheartedly
that Jesus took away all our sins, all at once, and paid for them
all.

'The beginning of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.' (Mark 1:1) The gospel
of Heaven is the joyous news. He asks us, "I took away all
your sins. I am your Savior. Do you believe in Me?" Among
a countless number of people, only a few have answered, "Yes,
I believe. I believe as You have told us. It was so simple that
I could understand it immediately." Those who confess their
faiths like this become righteous just like Abraham.

But others say, "I cannot believe
it. It sounds so new and strange to me."

Then, He asks, "Just tell Me,
did I take away all your sins or not?"

"I was taught that You took
away only the original sin, but not my daily sins."

"I see that you are too smart
to believe as you are told. You must go to hell because I have nothing
to say to you."

Believing in His complete redemption
has saved us. All of those who insist that they have sin must go
to hell. They made their own choice.

The gospel of redemption starts from
the testimony of John the Baptist. Since Jesus washed all our sins
away through His baptism by John the Baptist, we become sanctified
when we believe.

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being born again of water and the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul talked a lot about
the baptism of Jesus in his Epistles. In Galatians 3:27, "For
as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
'Being baptized into Christ' means that we are in union
with Christ by believing in His baptism. When Jesus was baptized,
all our sins were passed onto Him through John the Baptist, and
they were completely washed away.

In 1 Peter 3:21, "There is
also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward
God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Only those who believe in the testimony
of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus and the blood on the Cross
have the grace of redemption from above.

Receive the baptism of Jesus as the
antitype of salvation in your heart and be saved.